On SantaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s lap
Writes BARB KAMPMEIER: Ã¢â‚¬Å“I've been enjoying the vintage Christmas pictures sent in by many of your readers!
Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have attached a picture from about 1954, with my sister Colleen (4 years old) and me (8) sitting on Santa's lap. It was such an exciting time! We grew up in Morris, on the western prairie of Minnesota. Santa's visit was my sisterÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and my first visit to Minneapolis. We were amazed at all of the tall buildings, especially the Foshay Tower, which was the tallest building at the time. The city lights were magical, along with all the hustle and bustle of a city. Of course Dayton's was magnificent Ã¢â‚¬â€ not only for having Santa and lots of toys, but also for its elevators and escalators. We stayed in the Leamington Hotel, and the two of us had an adjoining room to our parents. We even had pay TV in both rooms! I remember waking Mom and Dad early in the morning so we could get some quarters to watch our TV. The only negative incident for me during the trip was getting car-sick on the way and throwing up all over my new coat and dress. I remember crying because I thought I wouldn't get to visit with Santa. Mom must have gotten me cleaned up enough to make the visit enjoyable, at least for me Ã¢â‚¬â€ but I'm not sure about Colleen enjoying Santa!
Ã¢â‚¬Å“Merry Christmas to all!Ã¢â‚¬?

On SantaÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s lap
Writes BARB KAMPMEIER: Ã¢â‚¬Å“I've been enjoying the vintage Christmas pictures sent in by many of your readers!
Ã¢â‚¬Å“I have attached a picture from about 1954, with my sister Colleen (4 years old) and me (8) sitting on Santa's lap. It was such an exciting time! We grew up in Morris, on the western prairie of Minnesota. Santa's visit was my sisterÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s and my first visit to Minneapolis. We were amazed at all of the tall buildings, especially the Foshay Tower, which was the tallest building at the time. The city lights were magical, along with all the hustle and bustle of a city. Of course Dayton's was magnificent Ã¢â‚¬â€ not only for having Santa and lots of toys, but also for its elevators and escalators. We stayed in the Leamington Hotel, and the two of us had an adjoining room to our parents. We even had pay TV in both rooms! I remember waking Mom and Dad early in the morning so we could get some quarters to watch our TV. The only negative incident for me during the trip was getting car-sick on the way and throwing up all over my new coat and dress. I remember crying because I thought I wouldn't get to visit with Santa. Mom must have gotten me cleaned up enough to make the visit enjoyable, at least for me Ã¢â‚¬â€ but I'm not sure about Colleen enjoying Santa!
Ã¢â‚¬Å“Merry Christmas to all!Ã¢â‚¬?

Writes John in Highland:
“The recent remembrances of hockey rinks put me in mind of our back-yard rink. We had the neighborhood winter gathering place for a dozen or more years.

“It all started when a December snowfall melted and then refroze in a large puddle of ice. Since our kids were just learning to skate, we decided to make it bigger by flooding it. Each successive year, it grew larger, and we added better nets and boards.

“We never had penalty boxes, but we could have used them when the bigger kids started to check each other. One favorite trick was to bump an opposing player over a side board into a large, thorny gooseberry bush.

“Two little neighborhood guys, Chad and Alex, would show up when the rink was not in use. Rather than put up with the rough-housing of the bigger kids, they would skate for hours by themselves, playing spirited games of one-on-one hockey.

“Although the rink has been gone for years, our kids still play hockey, in adult leagues and playground pick-up games. Chad and Alex grew up and played for the state champion Cretin-Derham Hall team [2006].

“I’ll offer a warning for any parents who consider putting in a rink for their kids. If you do, it will remain in their blood forever.”

BULLETIN BOARD SAYS: That sounds more like a promise than a warning….

‘Tis the season?

Rick of La Crescent: “Observations of a retired man pre-Christmas:

“If you don’t do something without being told, she will get mad.

“If you do something without being told, she will get mad. (I didn’t want that done now.)

“HELP!

“This, of course, was not my wife.”

Till death us do part

An entry in the Permanent Spousal Record maintained by Christy of Menomonie, Wis.: “Hubby gets a call from the post office. They have a package that is undeliverable.

“Hubby asks what it is.

“It is fruit from hubby’s uncle in California. His uncle sends us a box of fruit every year, which includes a generous supply of grapefruit. Hubby hates grapefruit.

“Hubby tells them to deliver it anyway.

“The post office guy says it’s against their policy to deliver fresh fruit in the winter because it sits for many hours on the truck.

“Hubby says he does not want to go downtown to pick it up.

“The post office guy says the fruit will freeze and be wrecked in the truck.

“Hubby says he does not care and tells them to deliver the fruit.

“An hour later, the doorbell rings. It is our regular carrier, with the day’s mail and the box of fruit. Now hubby has the hated grapefruit in hand, unfrozen. The mail also has our annual property tax bill. I think I heard him humming a few bars of ‘Joy to the World.’ Maybe not.”

Wise Old Woman of Blaine: “I don’t recall the moment I heard that Bing Crosby died. It was October of 1977 (I just looked it up), shortly after he had recorded a Christmas special. It was broadcast as scheduled after his death.

“What I do remember is sitting in front of the TV in tears as I listened and watched him sing ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas.’ Now it’s a fond memory, revived as I listen to his version of that song played on KTIS.”

CAUTION! Words at Play!

Dragonslayer of Oakdale: “Did you hear about the guy with the corduroy pillow? It made head lines.”

Our times

GopherLink of Dresser, Wis.: “With the FCC’s consideration of allowing passengers to use cellphones in-flight (termed by one critic as ‘the premise of a new reality show: “Cage Fighting at 30,000 Feet” ‘), a new BB category could be in the making: ‘Just Plane Bad Behavior.’

“I’m sure BB readers have a few stories to share.”

Today’s helpful (?) hint

IGHGrampa: “Don’t you just hate it when you choke on something? I was eating a cornmeal muffin for breakfast and aspirated a little crumb of corn meal. Then I spent the next 10 minutes coughing and sneezing, with my eyes watering like crazy.

“The corn muffin was a reheated leftover. They always get a little more dry when they’re reheated.

“On the up side, something like that cleans my sinuses very nicely. It’s almost all settled now, but what a way to do it.”

Perchance, to dream (resp’l)

The Pro from Dover: “In the Sunday BB, Charlotte Bronte-Saurus didn’t want to wake up from her colorful dream, though an outside source was annoyingly bent on rousing her.

“Something similar happened to me after a minor day-surgery experience. This surgery involved general anesthesia, but I was able to go home that afternoon. In the recovery room after the procedure, I was having a very vivid dream, with psychedelic colors, floating buildings and warm, fuzzy feelings. I did not want to wake up, though the person in the recovery bed next to mine was doing her damnedest to provoke me into wakefulness; she was moaning and screaming, and would not shut up.

“I had finally had enough, awoke, and turned to give her a piece of my mind, only to find that the bed next to me was empty. I was making all the noise. Oops — never mind.”

Where we live (responsorial)

The Retired Pedagogue of Arden Hills: “When I read Rick of La Crescent’s comment in Saturday’s Bulletin Board, ‘Then only the strong shall remain,’ it stirred an echo from years ago. I remembered teaching a selection (I don’t recall the title or the subject matter) from an anthology of literature, and I can picture this quote just below the title: ‘The cowards never started, and the weak died on the way.’

“I learned from a Google search that the line came from ‘Western Wagons,’ a poem by Stephen Vincent Benet. The last word should be ‘road,’ but the rest was accurate. I wonder if any of my former students would recall it.”

Hmmmmmmmm

The Divine Mum of Crocus Hill: “The F-Bomb, 7-1/2, wrote this item on his Christmas wish list: ‘Food.’ We have gone from concern about being unprepared for Christmas to questioning our fitness as parents.”

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